Invisible Orchestra

Invisible Orchestra is an interactive mapping system which provides the listener with orientation within the invisible archipelago of the WiFi hotspots. An initial investigation into spatial orientation revealed a keen reliance on temporal relationships between nodes, and in turn inferred a particular similarity to the ways in which songs provide orientation with in time itself. Here, the two cognitive mapping systems are utilized in harmony in order to provide orientation in that to which we cannot see.

This Android Application allows one to experience the densification of WiFi signals throughout the landscape through translating WiFi signals into instrumental figures. As base stations begin to intersect with one another, the composition of musical elements equally reacts to the surrounding environment. A linear relationship is established through a simple recursive method in which a single signal’s presence enacts a single musical element while the presence of a dozen WiFi signals enables a dozen musical elements within the track. Here, the role of headphones is reversed through revealing aspects of the landscape to the listener rather than removing them from it.

*In April 2011, Fre[e]quencies was exhibited as a part of MASS Potential.